Make business apps available
For iPhone apps, you are used to purchasing them via the App Store and paying with your Apple ID. This may be linked to a credit card, gift card or other payment method. But what about companies that need multiple apps for their employees. It is difficult to use one Apple ID throughout the entire organization and if everyone purchases apps privately using their own Apple ID, this will result in quite a lot of paperwork.
Apple therefore has Apple Business Manager for companies, which allows companies to centrally arrange the installation of apps. The counterpart for education is Apple School Manager for educational institutions. There are apps for purchasing large amounts of apps Volume purchases. You can also make a customized app available to employees via the Developer Enterprise Program.
- Apple Business Manager (third-party apps)
- Volume purchases (third-party apps and books)
- iOS Developer Enterprise Program (own apps)
There are even more solutions for schools and other educational institutions, such as multiple user accounts on the same iPad.
Apple Business Manager
Apple Business Manager is a web portal that helps you make the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV available within companies. Employees gain access to Apple services through this portal. The administrator can configure devices via the portal. You can also purchase apps, books and software that you make available to employees. The creation of managed Apple IDs is also centrally arranged.
With Apple Business Manager you can also arrange matters such as:
- WiFi and networks
- VPN
- File access
- Directory Services
- Identity facilities
Apple Business Manager is available in the Netherlands, Belgium and several other countries worldwide. Here you will find a list. With Apple Business Manager you can register and configure devices according to the wishes of the company. This can be done without physically touching the devices, even before users receive them. You can automatically register devices with the desired MDM solution (MDM = Mobile Device Management). These are third-party solutions, with the best-known providers being:
- Jamf
- Kandji
- Scalefusion
You can also contact:
- VMWare Workspace One
- Hexnode UEM
- SureMDM
- IBM Security MaaS360
Apple also has a solution for configuring devices for an organization: with Apple Configurator you can create and install configuration profiles on your iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. You can then automatically register the devices with one of the MDM solutions mentioned above.
Volume purchases
Organizations can create an account in Apple Business Manager to purchase and distribute apps through the App Store. For example, you can make one set of apps available to administrators and another set to salespeople or administrative staff. Previously called the Volume Purchasing Program, Apple also refers to Volume Store purchases.
To get an app through your organization’s account, you must accept an invitation that comes through a notification or email. After accepting the invitation, the apps will be listed among your own purchases. If your device is enrolled in an MDM system and the device serial number matches, you can install the apps immediately. So you cannot simply put such apps on a private device.
In the past it was not possible to purchase apps in large numbers (bulk). Volume purchases have therefore been introduced in the Netherlands and Belgium since the summer of 2011. It works as follows: companies create one corporate Apple ID, with which they can pay for all purchases. This account must be linked to a business credit card. This allows companies to purchase multiple licenses for an app. Distribution can then be arranged with software or by making promo codes for apps available to employees.
Apple Developer Enterprise Program
Most people know the App Store as the place to download new apps. But especially for companies, it is also possible to create apps that are only distributed within your own company. These are our own apps, which are not placed in the App Store and are only intended for our own employees. For this purpose there is the Apple Developer Enterprise Program of €299 per year. This is a lot more expensive than the normal Apple Developer Program, but the possibilities are much broader. This allows you to create apps in-house and distribute them to your own employees. The advantage of this is that you do not have to go through Apple’s App Store check.
If you have a business app that is only interesting for your own employees, it may be worthwhile to offer it through the Apple Developer Enterprise Program. Updates to an app are then only possible if the IT department approves and administrators can remotely control how app updates take place. To give an example: when an airline pilot is flying, an update to his apps will not suddenly be installed, temporarily depriving him of access to his digital manuals.
The Apple Developer Enterprise Program is for internal use and proprietary app distribution only. They are distributed on an ad-hoc basis or via Apple Business Manager. It can also be used for beta testing.
The following requirements apply:
- An organization must have at least 100 employees.
- It must be a legal entity, for example a BV or foundation
- The program may only be used to create your own apps for internal use, which will also only be distributed internally.
To participate, you must pass an inspection by Apple and you will also receive regular evaluations in between to see whether you are using the program correctly. The Developer Enterprise Program was at one point widely used to illegally distribute apps.
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